More Robert Mitchum Video goodness

Here is another Mitchum skit from Saturday Night Live with Dana Carvey and Phil Hartmann called "The Beggar". It's not particularly good. Death Be Not Deadly is much better.

Now all I need to find is "Out of Gas", the skit with Jane Greer and Robert Mitchum written by Mitchum's daughter Trina. From what I understand, it also features Mitchum's grandson Bentley Mitchum. If you find it anywhere, let me know!

And here is a funny clip of the show which written backwards is Ylimaf Yug (please don't comment back with the real name of the show because this could get pulled. I'll delete your comment. Warning!). In it, a cartoonized Mitchum is the Out of Shape in Shape Guy from the 1950s. I guess some people just don't appreciate big manly chests. I, however, am not one of those people. The world needs more big manly chests!

Who are you calling "out of shape"?!

Now a video that I was supposed to post a while back but never did. Millie from ClassicForever is a fellow Bobby Darin fan. I pleaded with her recently about a clip of Bobby Darin doing an impersonation of Robert Mitchum. I thought it was one of the most hilarious things I had ever seen. In fact it was so funny that Darin himself cracked up at his own joke and couldn't even finish the impersonation! Millie came to my rescue and found the clip of Darin doing a host of impersonations (including the Mitchum one) and posted it on her YouTube channel: ILoveRayMilland. Here it is! Thank you so much Millie.

The Mitchum impersonation starts at 5:58:

Is it me or did Bobby Darin and Robert Mitchum look oddly alike?

Robert Mitchum on Saturday Night Live

Jackpot! I've been searching for a clip (any clip) of Robert Mitchum hosting Saturday Night Live back in 1987. Thanks to the wonder of Twitter searches (and Tumblr ones too), I found a link to a clip recently posted on YouTube. It's of the skit "Death Be Not Deadly" in which Mitchum and Kevin Nealon spoof the Film Noir genre and that classic Noiresque voiceover that is so characteristic of the genre (yet found is so few of them oddly enough). It's an okay skit, funny but mostly enjoyable because of it's novelty. I think it's great that Mitchum was on a TV show which is still going strong today. Enjoy.

It's Ginger Rogers' birthday too. Move over Barbara Stanwyck!

Ginger is so upset at being overlooked by Stanwyck fans that she is threatening to clonk you all over the head with her trusty wrench!

Thank you to Jonas for the picture.

Vertigo (1958) at the Capitol Theatre

The Capitol Theatre is my local movie house. It is literally a few blocks away from my apartment building, yet I almost never go. It's proximity to my home makes me take it for granted because I know it's convenient and that's its always there for me. The last time I went to the Capitol was also the first time I went and that in October of 2008 when I saw the remake of The Women (1939) with Kevin.

A return visit has been long overdue.

 

Walking home one day, I saw this signage on the door of the Capitol. Hitchcock? On the big screen? Just a few blocks from my apartment? And I don't even have to worry about parking? Huzzah!

It's been years since I've seen Vertigo (1958) and while visually it's stunning, at that time I didn't much care for the story. I thought I'd give it another try. Initially, I had planned to go by myself but Carlos begged me to take him with me. He loves Hitchcock as much as I do, so date night was set. We had dinner then walked to the Capitol. We were a bit early so we stopped in on there ice cream shop and had a few pre-movie treats. While we were indulging in Maine Black Bear (raspberry ice cream with chocolate pieces) and Purple Cow (blackberry ice cream with white chocolate chips), Carlos asked me a question completely out of the blue...

What if Alfred Hitchcock directed Dr. Strangelove (1964)?

At first I brushed off the question but then I took a moment to think about it. Hitchcock would have never directed Dr. Strangelove because there are no no prominent female characters in it. Hitchcock REALLY loved his women. And he had a particular appetite for blondes.

 

In Hitchcock films, the camera is constantly making love to the female lead. Our eye is drawn to her instinctively. It's as though we are borrowing Hitchcocks POV for a few moments. However, it's always the female lead and never the other actresses. For example, in Rear Window (1954), the viewer is in a state of constant adoration for Grace Kelly but our eyes do not rest for very long on Thelma Ritter.

So when we watched Vertigo on the big screen, I kept an eye out for this detail (tee hee). And sure enough, Kim Novak is lovingly adored by Hitchcock's camera.

I must not have paid much attention the first couple of times I had watched the movie because there were a lot of great plot points I was missing. Watching it on the big screen, forced me to pay closer attention. Vertigo has everything. Great actors, stunning visuals, a plot that keeps you guessing, action, drama and romance. Plus a Jimmy Stewart with an excessive amount of make-up on.

I love how Hitchcock uses structures to represent different things. Brassieres and bridges hold things up and represent stability. Windows and door frame paint idyllic pictures but are often misleading. Ledges, rooftops and towers (heights) mean danger. The museum, cemetery, church and hotel are all purgatories for people in the present who are stuck in the past. There is enough meat in this film for an English major like me to feast on.

Watching Vertigo this once on the big screen is not enough. I need to own this film, watch it several times at home, take notes and break it apart. I need to watch it to analyze and watch it for fun.

Have you watched a Hitchcock film on the big screen? If so, which one? Did it change the way you watched the film or what you thought of it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!